I'd heard of Occupied Germany and Japan, but Austria...?

A few weeks ago I was trying to set a value on a piece of MZ china from Austria- very expensive, exquisite, hand painted china, just so you know. I saw a picture of one of their hatpin holders and idly wished I'd get to see one in person. That wish was granted Thursday.

The thing is.... it is definitely a MZ piece, but it wasn't marked with their logo, a two-headed hawk. Instead it had this curiously familiar eagle with lightning bolts in one claw and leaves in the other, and a circle of stars over its head. Do you see where I'm going with this....?

That's the Great Seal of the United States.

After some further digging, I learned that the U.S. occupied Austria just after World War II. It was considered a collaborator with Germany and many important people of the Nazi party hailed from there. But since it was Germany's first conquest, the nation was not held fully liable. U.S. forces left after only a few years. In contrast, it took Germany until 1989 to finally be reunited. I was a little girl, but I remember my father's company sending him there. He brought home a chunk of concrete that he said was from the Berlin Wall. We started eating the food that had been stockpiled in the cellar, and using the million rolls of aluminum foil that had been bought in case of nuclear fallout. That year we even wrapped our Christmas presents in it. It's funny how political events affect children even when they don't fully understand them.

To get back to the original topic, this hatpin holder is a unique item and I can find nothing to compare it to. It probably came to the U.S. as a soldier's present to his sweetheart. I know occupied Japan and Germany are collectibles, but I don't know how being from occupied Austria affects the collectability or value. All in all, it's an interesting story and I thought I would share.